This hotel in Hakone Gora offers a refreshing new way to explore Gora

Explore Gora’s history, its breathtaking vistas, local culinary delights and hot springs culture while staying at this Japanese mountainside getaway in Kanagawa Prefecture. Located along the cherry-tree-lined Haya River and surrounded by lush green mountains, Hotel Indigo Hakone Gora brings the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) brand’s strength as a neighborhood storyteller to guests.

Introducing a new way to explore Hakone Gora

Hakone Gora is a town of two tales: a century-old town cherished by Japan’s intellectuals and socialites as an escape from the bustling cities since the Meiji-period, while opening the gateway to vibrant nature, pastel-colored onsens (hot springs), contemporary museums, and digital art for a modern getaway.

Located just 1.5 hours from Tokyo, visitors can access the mountainous town by the Hakone Tozan Railway which opened in 1919, quickly cementing the town as a popular travel destination.

Over its 100-year history, stories are collected from along the Hayakawa river where the hotel now resides, from Gora’s ancestors and visitors who came to the town to find new life among the cherry blossom hot spot.

Today, these stories form the Hotel Indigo neighborhood experience where guests can immerse in the history through the hotel’s artwork and design, local menus, onsen experience and cultural workshops.

The Hotel Indigo Hakone Gora experience

Design is an integral part of the guest experience, drawing inspiration from the neighborhood to influence its interior. Ancient patterns from local Yosegi-zaiku woodwork have inspired wood patterns throughout the hotel’s lobby, parquetry woodwork decorating the ceilings and guest rooms, while contemporary artwork brings to life Hakone’s nature through ukiyo-e paintings, fireflies, fallen leaves and mountainous landscapes.

This first Hotel Indigo in Japan features 98 rooms and suites. Each room offers its own natural hot spring bath in-room or open-air bath on the balcony.

Nostalgia and novelty sit at the core of the design, with playful bed headboard artwork from Studio Cafe SHIMA that reflects the early Showa-period scenery of Gora. The blown-up black-and-white photos displayed in the guestroom showing the neighborhood from decades past will excite your curiosity.

The epicurean entertainment of ‘fire’ and ‘water’

The elements of Japan inspire the hotel’s restaurant and bar philosophy. Riverside Kitchen & Bar is the signature dining destination that brings to life the ‘fire’ element with its large firewood oven centerpiece and innovative menu from Executive Chef Patrick Morris. The restaurant uses locally sourced ingredients such as Ashigara meat and fresh seafood from the Odawara markets. ‘Water’ is embodied through the Bar & Lounge philosophy.

A stunning lounge with cocktail specialties, the outlet serves Mikan Mimosa made from fresh Odawara oranges and classic drinks such as ‘INDI五’ (Indi Go), a craft beer brewed in collaboration with Kamakura Beer.

A modern twist on tradition at Hotel Indigo Hakone Gora

Hotel Indigo Hakone Gora offers a modern twist on the onsen ritual with traditional wood finishes reminiscent of the Meiji-period bathhouses, contrasted with a dramatic digital art wall installation. The installation represents Hakone’s four seasons with rotating expressions of warmth, new life and the location’s natural landscape through colorful digital lighting.

Treatments by luxury Thai spa brand HARNN will recharge both skin and soul at ‘The Spa by HARNN’. The wellness destination offers an original menu of treatments inspired by the location, including essential oils, cherry blossom and yuzu.

Paul Tsuji, General Manager of Hotel Indigo Hakone Gora said: “Hotel Indigo Hakone Gora offers a refreshing new way to explore the Gora neighborhood. From the hotel design to restaurant and bar concepts and local partnerships, each guest will experience the art of storytelling through Hakone’s century-old history to its modern, adventurous spirit. We are delighted to open our doors and invite both first-time visitors and locals to experience the neighborhood with new curiosity.”

For more information, please visit Modern Onsen Hotel | Hotel Indigo Hakone Gora.

All images: credit to Hotel Indigo Hakone Gora

Updated: May 31, 2021

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